A atuação internacional dos estados norte-americanos para a implementação das políticas de mudanças climáticas: o caso da Califórnia

Abstract

This research aims to analyze the international action of North American governments for the implementation of climate change policies in view of their main motivations and instruments used. The hypothesis is that, in the United States, the federal government has taken steps to move away from climate change multilateralism through the lack of ratification of the Kyoto Protocol and the withdrawal of the Paris Agreement, encouraging states to implement climate policies that can assume a conflicting character over time. In addition, an intergovernmental power dispute ensues from the establishment of such policies. This engagement is based on three main reasons: 1) a specific demand from the international climate change regime, which requires the participation of several actors in its effective implementation; 2) economic issues, since the internationally engaged state governments are those who constitute leaderships in the promotion of renewable energies, and employ a significant part of their population in the sector; and 3) of a political nature, since climate change is a platform for political promotion and opposition, so that states, in the creation and implementation of defined policies, act by party color. In order to identify such activities and motivations, the paper presents a case study of the state of California, perceived nationally and internationally as an important actor in the promotion of climate change policies, in seeking to put itself as a leader in the field as opposed to the government federal, considering the internal variables of economic character and political opposition.